New Rockwater Marina Will Offer Great Views From The Arkansas River

Skyline views in Little Rock and North Little Rock have changed a lot since I was a little girl.  The buildings have grown taller, parks have been refined, bridges have been reclaimed and neighborhoods have been updated.

 Nowhere can you find a better view of both skylines than from the Arkansas River… and soon, you’ll have a chance to enjoy that view from the deck of your boat – or someone else’s.

 

Jim Jackson met me North Little Rock’s Arkansas River RV Park under the I-30 river bridge for an interview on the subject.  He’s driving this project and has all the skinny.

 
He first showed me a set of buoyant modules that are awaiting assembly.  This pile might not look like much, but over the next few days the pieces will be assembled underneath the interstate bridge.  Each will be slid down the boat ramp there and snapped into place like giant floating Lego blocks.  Once the whole thing is completed, it’ll be pushed up the river by a large barge to a jetty opposite the Riverwalk at Rockwater, a complex along the Arkansas River Trail.

 

Over the next few months, the floating marina will be augmented with boat slips, a store, a fueling station and hookups for city amenities such as electricity, ATT U-Verse and other utilities.  When completed, Rockwater Marina will feature 136 residential slips, which will be able to berth boats up to 90 feet in length.   

What does that mean?  It means those boaters will be able to anchor in one of the slips, be able to use all the utilities just like you get when you live in a house, and be able to enjoy that marvelous view all the time.  Since the River Trail is right there, those folks could bike to just about anywhere in downtown Little Rock or North Little Rock.  And there will be a parking lot for vehicles across the trail.
 

But say you want to just visit.  That’s great, too, since the marina will  include 32 transient slips for boats.  If you’re floating the river and want to stay out there overnight, you can pay a small fee and tie in to all the amenities.  The concierge service can even bring you groceries and supplies right out to your slip!

 

The first phase of construction should be complete this spring.  You can find more information at the Rockwater Marina website.

And if you want to see something really neat – sometime in the next few days that barge will be pushing the floating sections of the marina up-river.  It’ll be a sight to see!